Week of September 30, 2019 (see last week)
|
ADV |
In a series of stories, CBS News demonstrates huge variances in the price of various medical procedures, and how one man was charged $650,000 for an emergency operation despite having health insurance. Here also are 10 steps to appeal a medical claim denial or bill.
Back in the '60s when MrConsumer was a teenager, his mother sent him to a much-publicized speed reading course called Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics. In the course, you were taught to follow your index finger as you zigzagged it quickly down each page of a book. Using this method they claimed you could read hundreds if not thousands of words per minute with equal or better comprehension (or your money back). Now nearly 60 years later, a new book entitled "Scan Artist: How Evelyn Wood Convinced the World That Speed-Reading Worked" [click "Look Inside" to read an excerpt] suggests that those who took her classes were conned into believing this unproven method really was legitimate. So was this the seed that inspired MrConsumer to become a consumer advocate?
Retailers and restaurants use well-tested methods to make prices seem lower than they are or to get you to buy more. We all know that ending prices with .99 makes them seem cheaper. But whether a dollar sign is used or not, or whether prices are expressed as whole numbers are tactics that some sellers use to their advantage.
Tribune-owned newspapers now have a section devoted exclusively to product reviews. Great, you say. Not so fast says MrConsumer who discovered that the papers make a commission on every product they recommend if you make a purchase. And some of the story topics hardly seem newsworthy, like "The Best Men's Slipper" or "The Best Nipple Pasties."
That is our Mouse Print* story this week.
 Enter an item, or preferably paste its Amazon URL (address)
|
Every Monday morning, get a preview of the latest consumer stories and the Bargain of the Week in your email box...free! Sign up now.
ADV
See also: Hot Deals
Consumer Reports
|
Copyright © 1995-2019 Consumer World®. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy and Terms
|